The married lead pastor of a mega-church in the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert has been forced to resign after church leaders discovered that he has been engaging in multiple extramarital affairs with women from his congregation.

Mark Connelly admitted to his sins and resigned as lead pastor of Mission Community Church on December 30 after being confronted about the affairs and asked to leave.

Connelly and his wife, Kay, have been married for 29 years and have two children, Luke and Naomi, together.

Mark Connelly resigned as lead pastor of Mission Community Church on December 30, but this photo of him together with his wife Kay remains on the church's website

An estimated 6,000 people attend services at the Arizona church every weekend and members received news of Connelly's misdemeanor at worship on Jan. 4 and 5.

‘We are committed to helping Mark rebuild his marriage and we have offered all of the mercy and counseling resources of our church to help him and his family through this time,’ said Executive Pastor of Ministries Gary Sutliff, who has been named interim lead pastor.

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

Share

‘In addition, we have offered the same resources to the women involved. Our priority right now is helping all those involved, including the people of our church, heal from this.’

Just last year Connelly had hosted a seminar on what makes a successful marriage at the Buckhead Church in Atlanta. 'Their past struggles and present challenges put Mark in a unique position to encourage us all,' stated the event's invite.

The Mission Community Church in the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert receives 6,000 worshipers every weekend

Connelly and his wife, Kay, have been married for 29 years and have two children, Luke and Naomi, together

The church started in 1995 as
Superstition Springs Community Church and held its first public service
in a high school cafeteria.

The congregation will choose a permanent replacement from among the leadership.

On Sunday Pastor Randy Thomas addressed the congregation about the news and said that at first he felt angry and betrayed by Connelly.

‘We may be knocked down but we are not knocked out,’ Thomas said. ‘If ever there was a time for us to lean on each other, this is it.’

The church held a special prayer service at 7 p.m. on Jan. 7, inviting ‘all followers of Jesus to join with us in praying for wisdom and healing’, reports AZcentral.com.

Reaction from church-goers on social media was been mixed, with many expressing their sympathy for Connelly’s family, while others have questioned if the church is right to judge Connelly.

'I ask people how that is showing mercy. We all have one god and one judge. I do not condone marks actions but he did not have relations with people that where not consenting adults. We are all sinners. I think the church has handled this totally wrong,' wrote Lane Anderson.

'My wife and I will be staying,' wrote John Berger. 'The board of directors has done a fabulous job in dealing with this tragedy in a godly manner.'